davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-08-10

Mr.. Sheridan Drew writes from
Howell, Mich, that he found in the
stomach of a kingbird the remains of
one bee and nine " rose-bugs." The
same facts can be learned upon dissect-
summer. The kingbird or bee-martin,
like all the family of fly-catchers, to
which it belongs, would be one of our
most valuable birds were it not for its
one bad habit of catching and eating
bees. Still | think its good far exceeds
its evil. As we see above, nine rose
chafers and one bee is nine to one in
favor of the bird. Ihave often noticed
these birds perched near the apiary,
and have seen them dart off, catch
bee and then fly back to their perch to
enjoy their sweet morsel. 1t would be
interesting to know whether the bird so
holds the bee as to avoid the sting
which seems hardly possible, as the
bees sting will work and hurt even
after its owner is seemingly dead-or
whether, like the toad, it receives the
sting in its throat. | found upon dis
secting toad caught tapping up bees
in the apiary five bee stings sticking in
the throat. Either the toad is hardened
against bee poison or it takes the bit
ter with the sweet with a vengeance
when it dimes upon live worker bees,
as it frequently does. Unless l found
kingbirds doing far more mischief in
the bee-yard than has ever yet come
under my notice | should surely let
them have the few bees they take as
part pay for the vast good they do
Professor A: J. Cook, an Tribune
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-08-10

" Frank S" in this race were " Scott
Newman" by " Cuyler," son of " Rys-
dyk's Hambletonian;" Valkyr," by
"volunteer Star, he'll Volunteer }"
dam, cone Eye" by " Seely's Ameri-
can STAR" " Alcamont," by y" Almont,
Jr. :" son of "Almont," and Geneva
Wilkes" by Bartholomew Wilkes"
" Swinging around the circle " up into
Canada, we find that at Montreal, June
IA, the black gelding Government"
by Belongs Ethan Allen" son of
"Ethan Allen" won the race for his
class, beating Silvertail," ebay
ard =" and " Mile End" At Saugus,
Mass, June 30, "Rex," by Earth
quake" carried off first honors in the
1923 class, open TO PAGERS and trotters.
There may not be anything remarkable
in any of the above events, but the re-
suits show that the Morgans are still
alive, and in some cases are capable of
pushing their noses under the wire a
little ahead of their most fashionably-
bred competitors, bringing to mind a
remark of the famous Wizard of the
Sulky," who stated few years since
that he "liked dash of Morgan blood
in trotter."
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-08-10

under such circumstances the land
must be deeply and thoroughly plowed,
highly dressed and put into the best
possible condition ready for the plants,
which should be potted plants that may
be turned out of the pots without
disturbing the ball of earth. AS the
weather is generally dry in August, they
will probably need watering, especially
if they are not taken from pots, and if
the dry, hot weather continues it will
b ) better to water in either case. 1t is
a good plan to cover the plants with
frest-cut grass or hay to shade them for
a day or two after they are set, to pre-
vent the evaporation of moisture from
the soil. Care should be taken that the
plants are not pot-bound, for loose
plants without earth about them are
better than pot-bound plants. Allow
such plants to make no runners, but
grow them in hills the first year. Very
large fruit may be secured in this way,
and excellent crops, too. For common
cultivation we should prefer the cheaper
and better spring planting which most
fruit-growers practice.
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-08-10
Arabian POliteness.

There was a poor Arab once who,
travelling in the desert and accustomed
only to water from muddied and brack-
ish wells, came upon spring OF the
purest and sweetest water. So fresh
and pure did the water seem to him
that he thought it not unworthy pres
ent to the caliph of his tribe. And so,
filling his water-skin to the full with it,
he started on long and difficult jour-
ney to his caliph's presence. AT last
he laid his offering of the sweet water
at his monarch's feet. The caliph did
not despise the poor mans offering, or
dered some of it poured into cup,
drank it, and presented the humble
giver with a suitable reward. The
courtiers, crowding around, were max
ing haste themselves to taste the Won
derful water; but the caliph immedi-
ately forbade them-not drop of it
might they touch. When at last the
humble man had gone the courtiers
ventured to ask the reason of COM
mand so strange Then the caliph
answered: During the travels of the
Arab the water in his leathern bottle
had become impure and distasteful;
but ii was an Offering of love, and as
such received it with pleasure. But |
well knew that had | allowed another
to partake of it he would not have
concealed his disgust, and therefore
l forbade you to touch the water, lest
the heart of the poor man should have
been wounded. n-Selected.
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-08-10
Some Old Relics.

In an old town in Delaware are pre-
served two or three curious relics of
revolutionary days which bear sig
nificant lesson to people of later times.
One is silver strainer, which Benja-
min Franklin had made out of the first
silver dollar that he ever earned.
Another is worn prayer-book, which
also belonged to Franklin. In it is
written the name of Betty Parker, a
young girl to whom he gave it, with
these words of advice :" Go to church
constantly, whoever breaches. The
act of devotion is your principal bust
ness there, and, if properly attended
to, will do more toward mending the
heart than sermons generally can do.
Yet do not mean that you should de-
spise sermons, even if you dislike the
preacher, for the discourse is often
much better than the man, as sweet
and clear water comes through very
dirty earth" The other memento is
of a very different character. 1t is
bullet covered with thick coating of
rust. AT the battle of Brandywine
General Lafayette was shot and fell.
General, | am wounded" he said to
Washington, as he was carried past
the chief. q am sorry for it," was
the reply. Sir, am not sorry" the
young Frenchman answered quickly.
The bullet had passed through the leg
and could be felt under the skin at the
other side. No surgeon came to dress
the wound. a woman named Bell
McClosky cut out the bullet with her
scissors and bandaged the leg so skill
fully that when the surgeon examined
it nothing more was needed. This
woman was the wife of poor soldier,
who followed her husband to every
battlefield and gave what help she
could to the wounded and dying. When
Lafayette returned to this country in
1924 he visited Delaware and received
a splendid welcome, civil and military.
But he did not forget the woman who
had come to his help. Bell McClosky
was brought to Wilmington and pre-
scented to him. She had preserved the
bullet, and it is cherished by her de-
scendants as the memento of a brave
man and a good woman Youths
Companion.
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-08-10
Stick.

There is the man who begins bust
ness as a dairyman, let us say he goes
into it with rush; perhaps he succeeds
moderately well, but he finds it hard
work, needing the closest application.
While it is novel he is interested, but
as the novelty wears off and he finds he
is only making a bare living and is
not laying up money, or able to indulge
in luxuries, he becomes dispirited and
wants change. He declares that the
dairy is an Improbable business; that
bogus butter ruins it and that some
thing else pays great deal better
There comes boom in hops; the price
goes up to a dollar a pound, and he gets
rid of his cows at any sacrifice and buys
hop-roots and poles and reads up hop
growing. BY the time he has any hops
to sell, spared through painful effort
from the lice and mildew and various
other troubles incident to their culture,
the price is down to eight or ten cents,
and again he is discouraged and on the
ragged edge which separates hope from
despair. His hop-yard is plowed up,
and he tries something else which is
better, but always with the same result.
He tires Of it, or perhaps utterly fails,
which is probably because of the I'M
fortunate want of persistence, and
losing at every change and turn he is
soon in distress and goes over to the
dark side.-Country Gentleman.
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-08-10
East VS.. West.

There is no place in the wide world
where the rural population are so well
off and are provided with and sur
rounded by so many of the comforts,
conveniences and privileges of life as
ton does this more apply than in our
own state. We have sometimes over
looked this fact and have allowed the
idea to get abroad, especially among the
rising generation, who are just going
out into the active duties of life, that
the advantages here among us are
limited and not to be compared with
the West, and as a consequence we
have sent our young men and women
out of the state without their having
acquired an appreciation of what they
are leaving behind.-Maine Farmer.
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-08-10
Kitty's SchOOl-Day.

Little Kitty Glover started up in bed
just as the sun came peeping in the
widow. A very sweet little Kitty she
was, with her blue eyes and her dim
pies, for the angel had kissed Kitty
Clover three times. The old clock on
the stairs was ticking away for dear
life. But to-day it was not saying tick,
tick, tick; no indeed, the old clock had a
new tune this morning "Kitty is five
years old! Kitty is going to schoolln
over and over again. The little girl
jumped out of bed and had her shoes
and stockings on before Aunt Dnah
came in. Laws-a-mercyl" said Aunt
Dinah; " but my chile is a smart chile.
If she larn to read fast as she put on
dem shoes and stockin's she'll make
smart work in de school-room. 81
guess l will, aunty," said Kitty, for
] intend to try" Kitty's mamma had
pretty satchel all ready, and Kitty
placed her brand-new primer in it, and
off she started, out the back gate and
down the lane. AS she passed the
barn-yard she heard the hens cackling,
loudly, Kitty is going to SCHOOL,"
Down at the end of the lane was
large bush of hawthorn. A little bird
sat on one of the boughs, singing
sweetly, Good morning, Kitty! Are
you the little girl that is going to
SCHOOL," A squirrel ran along the
fence and perched himself on one of
the posts. "Oh! what little girl this
is to be going to school," he chirruped.
The teacher was very much pleased to
see Kitty Glover, and she asked one of
the larger girls if Kitty were coming all
the time. "No'm; just till she gets
tired" Does people ever get tired
coming to SCHOOL," asked Kitty, and
they all laughed. She said long
lesson in her primer, read the line Of
two times two" and did " sum-"
But she could not help thinking of the
squirrel and the bird, the chickens and
the old clock on the stair. By-and-bv
she rose very quietly and took up her
hat and her satchel; she walked up to
the teacher and said, in pitched little
voice, Good evening, Miss Mary. 1
guess l have to go home now" The
scholars all laughed again, and one
girl called out over her geography:
docs people ever get tired coming to
schOol?'' But she was very bad girl,
and so Kitty Clover didn't mind her
Louise II. Baker, in orr Little Ones.
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-08-10
The Morgan Horse.

We have always been believer in and
an admirer of the Morgan horse, and
are always pleased to see the constantly
recurring proofs of their excellence in
the various lines of usefulness. We
take this week, from the very full and
excellent horse notes of the american
CultivdtOr, some account of recent per-
formances on the trotting course of
some of them in different parts of the
country. Their excellence as roadsters
has stood unquestioned, " but they
could not trot." To such as have held
that opinion the performance this sea-
son of horses having strains Of Morgan
blood will be something of a surprise,
and no one of intelligence will be more
so than at the success of Mr.. Battell's
researches to correctly trace the pedigree
of " Old Pilot" so many of whose de-
scendants have shown such great speed.
The once despised little Morgans are
holding their own remarkably well in
all parts of the country this season. A
summary of recent turf performances
shows that the bay mare, g Little Ida"
by 81 Tom Hunter" son of Secor's
in the 1926 pacing race at Cedar Rapids,
Iowa, on the Dist ult., in three straight
heats; time, 2:2S, 2:22a, 2:264. Two
days later the inbred Morgan PAGER,
" Tommy Lynn" beat field of noted
flyers in the free-for-all pacing race,
among which were Toledo Girl F."
(2:15), " Dan ID " (2:15, by the inbred
Hambletonian stallion " Diadem;"
" NARROW" (2:15), by Standard
Bearer" son of Volunteer" by
Rysdyk's Hambletonian, )" and others
of less note. I" Tommy Lynn " is by
Young Addison" a grandson of cad
dison," by Vermont Black Hawk"
and won greater number of races last
season than any other PAGER upon the
turf. Miss Cawley," brown daugh-
ter of Daniel Lambert, )" won the 2:4S
race at the above place June "a,
taking third, fourth and fifth heats in
1850, 2:35, 2:36t, beating such fashion,
ably-bred trotters as " Idalia," by Ad-
ministrator " (2:29D, Patrolia," by
" Egmont," son of g Belmont;' g Al
camont," by Almont, Jr.," son of
Almont," and "Nero," by Lake
land Abdallah," full brother to /" Har-
DID," sire of " Maud S "(2:0SO The
first and second heats of the above race
were won by " Idalia," daughter of
Administrator" in 2:35t and 2:35a.
AT Oconto, Wis, June %, in the
free-for-all trotting race, first money
was captured by Maggie Keeyan, ~
by ''Star of the West" by Jackson's
"Flying Cloud" son of "Vermont
Black Hawk" Second money went to
"Mary Sprague (2:2D, daughter of
Governor Sprague" (2:20D. The
three-minute race at Columbus, Ind,
June IA, was won by" Frank S." by
"Jubilee Lambert" (2:25), he by
Daniel Lambert" from daughter of
the Taft Horse" by" Vermont Black
Hawk" Among the horses beaten by
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-08-10
sold Pilot" an Inbred Morgan.

No man in America has worked harder
or accomplished more during the past
few months in unearthing obscure
pedigrees than Mr.. Joseph Battell of
Middlebury, Vt. His latest achieve
ment in this direction is the tracing
and establishing of the pedigree of the
famous PAGER, sod Pilot" sire of
Pilot, Jr.," which has gained world
wide renown through the performances
of the offspring of his daughters, Miss
RUSSELL" dam of maud S" (2:0SD,
Nutwood" (2:1S3) and "Cora Bel
mont" (2:24D; Midnight, " dam of
Jay-Eye-See (2:10) and "Noon-
tide " (2:2OD; Waterwitch," dam of
Mambrino Gift" (2:2O, Viking"
(2:20D and "Scotland (2:225). Ac-
cording to Mr.. Battell's statement in
the Middlebury Register, he has traced
"Old Pilot" from New Orleans back to
Montreal, where he was bought by
peddler, and from Montreal back to his
breeder, from whom it was learned that
this speedy black PAGER was got by a
son of the famous dustin Morgan"
founder of the Morgan family of horses,
and that his dam, which was a very fast
trotter for her day, was also descend
ant of Justin Morgan" making the
sire of Pilot, Jr." an inbred Morgan.
Surely wonders will never cease. Is it
not high time for somebody to drown
the Morgans with ink again? They
are coming to the surface so rapidly
that it will take several of the most
vigorous ink-slingers to keep them
under. Their most ardent supporters
have only claimed that they eXcelled as
roadsters. What family of trotters could
have accomplished greater results upon
the turf in face of the fierce opposition
that Morgans have encountered?-
american CulticdtOr.
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-08-10
Salt on All Crops.

Thirty years successful use of salt
upon all kinds of crops has proved its
value to me. 1t should not be used on
cold, heavy or moist soils, and if any
one so uses it he will be disappointed in
the result, as its tendency is to keep
the ground cool and moist. 1t will do
such soil more harm than good. 1t
should not be cast upon very young or
tender plants of any kind, as it will be
very sure to kill them. Judgment
should be employed in using so strong
an agent. / had friend who heard
me recommend salt on onion beds,
when l strictly urged that it should be
dragged or worked in before the seed
was sown. But, forgetting what 1 said,
he did not salt until the onions were
about two inches high, and it killed
them all; but on sowing another crop
properly it turned out splendidly. Had
he waited until the tops were as big as
large pipe-stem he might have COW
cred the ground an inch deep and his
onions would have done finely. Onions
should be sown on the same ground
year after year, as they continue to
improve. There are yards hundred
years old, and their yield would astonish
the common grower. The tops when
cut off should be scattered over the
ground (do not leave them in lumps),
as they make the best food for the
growing onions; then sow salt, and
then put on a coat of manure. Salt is
not much of a fertilizer in itself, though
plants take it up, as you can tell by
testing and by the stiffening and glaz-
ing of straw of plant grown in
sailed ground. l think it acts upon
and assimilates the gross matter in the
soil, so as to make it available food. 1t
should be in every garden.-Cor. Lon
don horticultural Times.
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-08-10
Farm Notes.

For youth who wants to learn the
useful art of husbandry the London
agricultural Gazette suggests appren-
ticeship with a thoroughly practical
farmer.
MIR. JOHN TUCKER of the Farm
Journal regards good breeding mare
as the best investment a man can
make now in the animal line. " Horses
are higher than any other stock"
PROFESSOR WRIGHTSON lately re-
marked, in an address before the Lon
don Society of Arts, that the best farmers
he knew had no " SCIENCE and "never
read the Journal of the Royal Agri-
cultural Society,""
THE Homestead has fine picture of
cold Daniel Lambert" which il de-
scribes as owned by "Joseph Bottelle of
Middleburg." That must make friend
Battell's flesh creep on his bones, for
he is no bottle and Middlebury sounds
better than burg"
A CORRESPONDENT writes that he
would like to become an editor. You
would, son? You would, eh? Well,
after you become an editor and write
kissed her under the silent stars -
and the compositor sets it up 81
kicked her under the cellar stairs -
you will just ache to grow bow-legged
following pair of oxen along a furrow
across "A forty-acre field. - Western
PlOtCmdn.
BY feeding but small rations of bran
daily to dry COW with calf and with
enough other fodder, how she will lay
on flesh and look as sleek as an " otter"
and hardly ever fail of doing well on
coming in, and being in good flesh is
all ready for business; and if you de-
sire to sell her at any time, by being in
good flesh you can, nine times out of
ten, realize enough more for her than
if she had been i" rack-a-bone " poor
to pay for all the bran or extras she
has eaten, and what several others eat,
too, aside from the consciousness of
having some decent-looking stock in
flesh about you.-J. C.. Underwood,
st. JohnSb,uy, W.
TAKE the lambs away from the sheep
and feed them well till they are weaned,
if any of them are sucking yet. Now
is the time to prepare for early lambs
hSAt SpiihS' - you oiO q ivy ihhOi, Wv
not 90 in too deep, but select a few
good, large-bodied sheep, not less than
three years old, as younger sheep would
not bear high feeding so WELL Give
them good pasture or field to Craze in
and little grain or shorts daily, which
must be gradually increased. Nothing
pays better than this branch of farm
ing, if properly conducted. For sire
for the lambs select round-bodied
well-built specimen of some of the i'm
proved breeds, not too large and bony.
EVERY one who knows by vexatious
experience how difficult it is to catch a
chicken in hurry by running her
down when the ever-impending par
son looms on the near horizon about
dinner-time, or who realizes the danger
of being anywhere about the premises
when the impulsive housewife tries to
kill the bird by throwing stones, will
thank the Farm journal for the APP
pended suggestion: "Take cord and
make at one end slip-noose about
twenty inches in diameter. Lay this on
the ground and stand off some distance
with the other end in your hand
Throw some corn about the moose, and
when the right fowl gets its feet within
the circle of the cord pull quick and
you have it,"
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-08-10
agricultural.
About Potatoes.

We give below several items relating
to scabby, rough potatoes, giving the
ideas held by the writers as to the
cause. Our condition of mind is best
expressed in the last, except that we
never felt certain that we knew either
cause or cure. In the circle of our
personal acquaintance the potato crop
promises poorly in quantity, and we
have never before seen so many and
badly scabbed potatoes.
sCAB IN POTATOES.
Our farmers are busy harvesting a
heavy crop of hay. All kinds of farm
and garden crops are looking finely
Strawberries, blueberries and rasp-
berries are abundant. Apple-blossoms
blighted badly, and the yield of that
fruit will not be large in this vicinity
| notice in the Farmer an inquiry as to
the cause of the scab or rust on pota-
toes. | think it is caused by small
grub found in rotten wood applied to
the soil as dressing. Some years since
/ purchased several cords of stable
dressing where sawdust was used as
bedding for the horses. That year my
potatoes were about spoiled by the
scab. A few years subsequently a
neighbor applied to his potato field
some twenty loads of decayed chip
dirt from an old ship-yard. His pota-
toes were similarly affected. In old
chip dirt may be found at night a small b.,
luminous black grub l have found
this grub on potatoes when digging in
hills affected by the scab or rust.-T
S. NJ, IN Maine Farmer.
wORM-HOLES.
When the young tuber starts into life
it starts in all its parts simultaneously
the starch cells with the others. The
first row of cells is placed close to the
skin, the second row above it still
nearer the skin, and so on row after
row, the last row always nearest to it
gradually forcing it back to make more
room. The pores, the natural outlets,
are formed at the same time, extending
from the surface to the first row of
cells, frightening upwards as the layer
of starch cells increases in thickness.
Now, when the tuber shows rejected
matter through the pores, which are
very ucllCdIc anu easily luJulCu, anu
the re iected matter is of such quality
that it corrodes and destroys the pores
at their extremities and scab forms,
no more cells are ever formed under
the injured part, but around it they
continue to be added and built up, till
when the growth is completed and the
potato ripe that which was once a
small speck on the surface is now a
large scab at the bottom of hole. That
is the worm-hole that has been puzzle
for hundred years or more.-W. H.,
UncaSrille, CT, IN Mirror and Farmer.
WHAT CAUSES sCAB IN POTATOES?
What causes scab in potatoes and
what is the cure?n some one asks the
Farm Journal, and the answer is: 1--WE
do not know, neither do we know any
one who does. We did think we knew
a good deal about it once, but that was
one of the mistakes of our enthusiastic
youth. The man who can answer this
query to certainty will be as great a
public benefactor as the one who makes
three blades of grass grow where only
two grew before"
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-08-10
Setting Strawberry Plants
in August.

j. f. c. Hyde says, in the Congrega-
tiondHSt, that the spring is regarded as
the safer and better time to set straw
berry plants, but many neglect or are
not able to do this work at that season,
or they may wish to obtain large fruit
in the shortest possible time, and such
persons can set out plants in August
and secure good crop the next season.
In order to realize the best results